Pheasant and Homemade Noodles
Go back to all recipesWritten by Jenny and Rick Wheatley
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Prep Time: 1 hour - Cook Time: 2 hours
My cousins-in-law, Keith and Jo Ann Brown, are the epitome of the old-school, American home cook. Although in their 80s, they still host the extended family on major holidays, whipping out classics like they could do in their sleep. Here’s a recipe inspired by one of those visits: pheasant with homemade egg noodles. The gravy is to die for, and if you’re a true Midwesterner, you’d eat this over mashed potatoes. Because starch on starch is just how people roll out here.
Ingredients
4 to 6 pheasant breasts (and wings, optional)
Sea Salt, to taste
4 pats salted butter
1 tsp fresh sage, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
2 cup(s) low-sodium chicken/game stock
Half an onion
1 carrot, quartered
1 rib of celery, quartered
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Cream of Chicken
4 tbsp salted butter
1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 cup(s) low-sodium chicken/game stock
3 tsp Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
1/4 heaping tsp. celery seed
1/4 heaping tsp. onion salt
1/4 heaping tsp. garlic powder
1 cup(s) whole milk, warmed
Egg Noodles
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour, plus extra
1 tsp sea salt (not coarse)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks only
1/4 cup(s) whole milk
Instructions
Step #1 To make the dough, combine 1 tsp. of salt and 2 cups of flour in a stand mixer. Then make a well in the middle and add the 2 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs. With the hook attachment, turn the mixer on low to incorporate. Then slowly add the milk and knead until the dough comes together into a ball, about 3 minutes. It should be slightly sticky; if needed, add more flour or milk a little bit at a time. Next, turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it’s no longer sticky, about a minute. Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can make the dough by hand. You should end up with about 1 pound of dough.
Step #2 In a medium-large saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tbs. of butter and allow to foam for a few seconds. Then add ½ cup of flour and whisk for 2 minutes; it will look dry and pebbly. Next, slowly add chicken or game stock, whisking constantly, to form a smooth roux. Then stir in remaining ingredients, adding the warmed milk slowly while whisking. Bring to a simmer and cook until you get a thick, smooth sauce, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Adjust heat accordingly to prevent scorching the bottom. Take off heat.
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Step #3 Preheat oven to 300° Fahrenheit. Move oven rack to the lower third. In a medium-size Dutch oven, add pheasant in one layer and sprinkle with salt. Pour the cream of chicken over the pheasant, along with 4 pats of butter, sage, thyme, rosemary, white pepper and paprika. Then stir in 2 cups of stock, carrot, celery and onion. Bring to a simmer. Close the lid and transfer the pot to a preheated oven, and cook for 1-2 hours, or until pheasant is tender.
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Step #4 Thirty minutes into cooking the pheasant, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Wrap one piece while you work with the other. Dust the rolling pin with flour, and roll out dough thinly, about ¼ inch. Use a pizza cutter to slice dough into 3-inch-long noodles. You can cut your noodles as thinly or thickly as you like; they will expand when cooked. Dust with flour to prevent sticking. To prevent the noodles from clumping together, quickly add each noodle separately into the boiling water rather than dumping them in all at once. Stir and cook for three minutes.
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Step #5 Take Dutch oven of the oven. With a skimmer, scoop out the cooked noodles from the boiling water, allowing excess water to drain, and stir noodles into the pheasant and gravy. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Return the Dutch oven back into oven and continue cooking until pheasant is tender. When done, cut pheasant into bite size pieces, and then return it to the pot. Discard onion, carrot and celery. Stir in chopped parsley and season to taste. Serve by itself or over hot mashed potatoes.
Recipe Card
Pheasant and Homemade Noodles
Written by Jenny and Rick Wheatley Visit :
Visit authors websiteView Printable Page
Prep Time: 1 hour - Cook Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
4 to 6 pheasant breasts (and wings, optional)
Sea Salt, to taste
4 pats salted butter
1 tsp fresh sage, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
2 cup(s) low-sodium chicken/game stock
Half an onion
1 carrot, quartered
1 rib of celery, quartered
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Cream of Chicken
4 tbsp salted butter
1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 cup(s) low-sodium chicken/game stock
3 tsp Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
1/4 heaping tsp. celery seed
1/4 heaping tsp. onion salt
1/4 heaping tsp. garlic powder
1 cup(s) whole milk, warmed
Egg Noodles
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour, plus extra
1 tsp sea salt (not coarse)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks only
1/4 cup(s) whole milk
Instructions
Step #1 - To make the dough, combine 1 tsp. of salt and 2 cups of flour in a stand mixer. Then make a well in the middle and add the 2 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs. With the hook attachment, turn the mixer on low to incorporate. Then slowly add the milk and knead until the dough comes together into a ball, about 3 minutes. It should be slightly sticky; if needed, add more flour or milk a little bit at a time. Next, turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it’s no longer sticky, about a minute. Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can make the dough by hand. You should end up with about 1 pound of dough.
Step #2 - In a medium-large saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tbs. of butter and allow to foam for a few seconds. Then add ½ cup of flour and whisk for 2 minutes; it will look dry and pebbly. Next, slowly add chicken or game stock, whisking constantly, to form a smooth roux. Then stir in remaining ingredients, adding the warmed milk slowly while whisking. Bring to a simmer and cook until you get a thick, smooth sauce, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Adjust heat accordingly to prevent scorching the bottom. Take off heat.
Step #3 - Preheat oven to 300° Fahrenheit. Move oven rack to the lower third. In a medium-size Dutch oven, add pheasant in one layer and sprinkle with salt. Pour the cream of chicken over the pheasant, along with 4 pats of butter, sage, thyme, rosemary, white pepper and paprika. Then stir in 2 cups of stock, carrot, celery and onion. Bring to a simmer. Close the lid and transfer the pot to a preheated oven, and cook for 1-2 hours, or until pheasant is tender.
Step #4 - Thirty minutes into cooking the pheasant, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Wrap one piece while you work with the other. Dust the rolling pin with flour, and roll out dough thinly, about ¼ inch. Use a pizza cutter to slice dough into 3-inch-long noodles. You can cut your noodles as thinly or thickly as you like; they will expand when cooked. Dust with flour to prevent sticking. To prevent the noodles from clumping together, quickly add each noodle separately into the boiling water rather than dumping them in all at once. Stir and cook for three minutes.
Step #5 - Take Dutch oven of the oven. With a skimmer, scoop out the cooked noodles from the boiling water, allowing excess water to drain, and stir noodles into the pheasant and gravy. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Return the Dutch oven back into oven and continue cooking until pheasant is tender. When done, cut pheasant into bite size pieces, and then return it to the pot. Discard onion, carrot and celery. Stir in chopped parsley and season to taste. Serve by itself or over hot mashed potatoes.
About the Author
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Jenny and Rick Wheatley
Visit authors websiteJenny and Rick Wheatley both grew up in Southern California and connected over a shared love of the outdoors. They started their wild game cooking blog Food for Hunters in 2011, where they share recipes, photos and thoughts on wild food. Today, Jenny and Rick continue to hunt, fish, forage and cook in the Cornhusker State of Nebraska. Their recipes have appeared in numerous publications, including Petersens Hunting, Game and Fish, Nebraskaland and North American Whitetail magazines.
The Nebraska Center for the Book awarded their book Hunting for Food: Guide to Harvesting, Field Dressing and Cooking Wild Game the Wildlife Honor Award in 2016.